The PTT was reacting to the Pope’s Christmas message in which he declared that saving humanity from homosexual behaviour was as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

PTT secretary and trustee George Broadhead said: “This must be the most outrageous and bizarre claim yet made by the Pope who has already got a well-deserved reputation as one of the most viciously homophobic world leaders on a par with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

“The Vatican has already reinforced its anti-gay reputation by strongly opposing a UN declaration calling for an end to discrimination against gays, but this latest papal outburst is clear evidence of an obsession about homosexuality which is tantamount to paranoia.”